


The Soldier and the Sergeant

by Menecairiel



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-10-14 10:59:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10535088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Menecairiel/pseuds/Menecairiel
Summary: Snippets of the Winter Soldier and Bucky Barnes, the balance of the two personas and the past they have lived together.





	

**The Soldier and the Mutant**  
  
  
The bullet curves.  
  
The Soldier reloads and takes another shot, his eyes not on the target but on the pink hat and coat that the woman beside the target is wearing.  
  
The next shot is a headshot. Target is down, but because the first bullet curved he fires again. He does not know why, it is not in the mission parameter.  
  
He packs up quickly because the bullet had curved. His mind mentally goes through files. It was not a natural behaviour of a bullet. The Soldier comes to a conclusion.  
  
The Mutant Magneto.  
  
So, because he has so much metal in him, he packs up and leaves quickly. He knows there is a patsy left behind. Perhaps even more than one now.

  
  
**The Soldier and the Red Room Assassin**  
  
  
She is standing between him and his target.  
  
The shock of red hair is striking, the target blocked by her. It annoys the Soldier. He had not anticipated this. He had thought she would have better survival instincts than that. It does not matter. The rifle is a comfort against his shoulder, nestled there to take the recoil.  
  
He has his Mission.  
  
His Mission is a simple one.  
  
It is not too late.  
  
For a moment, the Soldier admires the forms of the woman, the curves of her body, the way she is standing there. Strong. She stands there strong.  
  
She will think it is enough, to stand there. He can tell. A real person would be afraid but the Red Room takes away fear.  
  
So he squeezes the trigger, the bullet going straight. Through her. Then through the target. He stands, knowing his aim was true.  
  
Target is down.  
  
He has done his job. He could have changed his aim, taken out the Assassin properly. Killed her. But he did not. That was not the Mission and the Soldier has to admire her guts. A gutsy dame. So he leaves her to her fate, whatever she decides it to be.  
  
His target is down.  
  
  
  
**The Soldier and the Hawk**  
  
  
His Mission is simple.  
  
He is just following. This is not to kill. It is to observe. Observe a SHIELD agent who was known for hiding himself. Air vents. Different names. Sneaking around.  
  
He was just observing and reporting back. It was not going to be a big deal at all.  
  
It is a club. Darkened windows, curtains.  
  
The Soldier has to remove his combat gear to follow, pulling on a leather jacket. Wipes the combat paint off quickly, but it leaves smudges like eyeliner. It does not matter.  
  
He puts on the leather glove and follows in. The bouncer looks him up and down and the Soldier meets his eyes.  
  
He is let in.  
  
The club has music, only it is not music. It is a deep sound and drums and the voices of people talking or screaming. He goes high. The Hawk must be there somehow. The Soldier spots him by a stage, arms above his head, a knife against his flesh. It confuses the Soldier. It confuses him but he watches on, his heart racing with it.  
  
The Hawk is kissing and being kissed, the knife flashes and blood rising. It is like nothing he has ever seen before.  
  
The Soldier stares, takes in this secret part of the Hawk, the chained down figure who arches and swears and begs. It is beautiful. The Soldier recognises beauty.  
  
He leaves and for the first time, he reports back falsely. The Soldier does not know why, it is words he cannot get out, that are trapped inside of him. He tells them he lost his target in the area. He reports back with nothing.  
  
He dreams he is the one arching in pleasure and pain.  
  
  
  
**The Soldier and the Monster**  
  
  
The Soldier knows better than to approach.  
  
He is here to observe. He is witnessing the change between the monster and the man, the shrinking of muscle, of bone mass.  
  
The agonising scream that made him twitch uncomfortably with a memory of his own pain.  
  
He watches as the man, not the monster, curls up naked and cries. It is the second time Bruce Banner has become the Hulk.  
  
And the Soldier watches, raises a camera and takes a photograph. He then deletes it. He has many of the monster. This crying man? No. He is not part of the mission. He reports with the photographs and tells them about the Monster.  
  
It is enough.  
  
  
  
**The Soldier and the Playboy**  
  
  
The weapons deal has gone ahead.  
  
The Playboy is laughing and drinking at the party. It is not in the Tower, it is somewhere else. A client’s home.  
  
The Soldier is there as muscle. He is not here to kill. He is here to protect. The suit he wears is not comfortable. He hopes he will not fight.  
  
The Playboy drinks too much and the jokes get sharper and uglier. His eyes get colder and he looks as if he is going to throw up. But he doesn’t. Instead, the Playboy pulls a woman close and she melts into it, kisses him, but the Playboy’s eyes are somewhere else.  
  
The Soldier can’t blame him. He used to do that too.  
  
The Playboy throws up later and the Soldier stands outside the bathroom, listening to the soft sobs that follow. He wonders how long it will last.  
  
He stays until it stops and then leaves before the Playboy can see him.  
  
  
  
**The Soldier and the Norse God**  
  
  
New Mexico is hot but the Soldier does not notice.  
  
He is from a distance, watching. He came here for a Hammer. But he knows he will not be able to extract it. He watches in the rain, knowing there are others observing. He stays hidden, watching through the sniper rifle as the fair-haired man takes the Hammer and lifts it. Lightening cracks. He is a god. The Soldier knows it and it worries something inside him.

There is only one God.  
  
And yet, he also knows that this is one, who stands there. The fair-haired man is handsome, strong, powerful and animalistic. It tugs at the Soldier before he pushes it aside.  
  
He considers not reporting back.  
  
He will be punished. He did not complete the mission. And yet, he knows he will have nowhere to run. He has nowhere to end up going. He is stuck in this time, in this world.  
  
Dreams of other things, of blond hair tickling his neck and uneven breaths against his skin will not matter. It is just a dream.  
  
This is the reality. The Soldier reports back, empty handed.  
  
What they do to him hurts, it strikes a chord deep inside the Soldier, of shame and humiliation.  
  
He can’t curl up. He is a weapon.  
  
They wipe him and freeze him.  
  
  
  
**The Soldier and Sergeant Barnes**  
  
  
There is a second between dreaming and awake when they stand there, face to face.  
  
The young man is fresh shaven but his eyes are strangely hollow. Pained. He wears a dirty uniform, straightened the best way he could. He shakes his head at the Soldier, with disappointment, with pain and rage.  
  
_Why?_  
  
_Why do you keep doing this?_  
  
_Why lock me up here?_  
  
The Soldier watches him, his hair long, stubble so close to become a beard. Eyes oddly wild yet vacant at the same time. He is a trapped animal. But he has a Mission.  
  
_I have to keep you safe. You are all that matters. I will keep you safe._  
  
Sergeant Barnes, no, Bucky. Bucky watches him before he moves closer, the light changing as the Soldier opens his eyes. Words hang in his mind, for a moment.  
  
_I don’t think I am worth all this._  
  
The Soldier disagrees. Bucky has been hurt enough as a POW, as an experiment. The Soldier will keep him safe, will keep his memories safe. Will protect that young man from Brooklyn who thought he’d make a difference and lost everything.  
  
Even if the Soldier ends up breaking.  
 

**The Soldier and Captain America**  
  
It is the name that breaks him.  
  
The question of the name from the man he has fought. It is the name of the Sergeant. It is not the Soldier’s name. He denies the name, the secret, with all he is.  
  
Afterwards, Bucky is closer to him. He holds his hand through the wipe, whispers in his ear as he hunts the Target.  
  
The Target is Captain America.  
  
No, it’s Steve.  
  
It’s the Mission.  
  
Bucky talks him out of it. Breaks through enough to tell the Soldier to save him.  
  
Tells him he loves him.  
  
The Soldier obeys the Sergeant’s orders. Saves him. And then Bucky tells him the truth.  
  
They are one. They are the same. And he encourages him, stands by him. It shifts, slowly.  
  
It is the Soldier who retreats deep inside and Bucky faces the world.  
  
The Soldier offers language, Romanian, when Bucky needs somewhere to stay.  
  
He tells him how to fight, offers to take over now and then.  
  
The Soldier will keep the body still when Bucky is silently screaming as he relives memories. The Soldier holds him still when the heart is breaking at the memory of the Soldier hurting the man that Bucky loves. The Soldier promises not to do it again. It was the Mission.  
  
Bucky and the Soldier finds a balance. It is a dance. The situation dictates who surfaces and who holds back. It is the best of both worlds. Until the world turns on them and it is Bucky who is running with Steve and it is the Soldier who realises that he does not belong. Not truly.

It will hurt when the wall between them finally falls down.  
  
It happens when the arm goes. It hurts. The Soldier grows smaller inside of Bucky.  
  
It is the right thing to do.  
  
  
  
**The Soldier and the Past**  
  
  
The Soldier is still watching.  
  
But it is Bucky Barnes who is sitting there, watching the people around him. Steve used the phone, called them all together. Banner isn’t there but whenever his name is mentioned, Bucky just remembers the man curled in on himself, crying.

Thor is not there either. It relaxes the Soldier more than Bucky. Bucky will not know how unworthy the Soldier felt as he watches, or the punishments he got afterwards.  
  
Natasha is there. She stands straight, legs planted firmly. Bucky watches her and sees the younger woman standing before a target, knowing the shot would be taken. She has healed well. She is a survivor. Bucky smiles at her and she smiles back, eyes gentle and soft. She doesn’t see the Soldier is still there.  
  
Stark is talking, his voice raised slightly in an insult. But it is good natured and he is drinking from a bottle of mineral water. Bucky watches him, remembering the sobs and looks away, uncomfortable.  
  
His eyes lands on Clint. Clint with the quick humour, the shining eyes, the shrugs. But all he sees is the naked body pinned down, the knife flashing, the way his eyes would focus. Clint had been beautiful. Bucky knows why he hides it though. He would too.  
  
The Soldier whispers to him.  
  
Tells him it is okay, he will always be there. Bucky believes it. The Soldier will always be inside of him. A weapon of Hydra. A protector.  
  
His jaw tightens and he looks at Steve. And Steve looks at him and smiles. It is a sad smile and he wonders, briefly, if Steve has Captain America inside of him, talking to him. Or maybe little Steve Rogers is still inside, talking the Captain through things? He sits there, laughing easily with the jokes and wonders if this is how it is going to be now. Now he is free. At the cost of the Soldier’s freedom.

And then the Soldier tells him the truth. He was never free. He was never meant to be free. His Mission was to keep Bucky Barnes safe.  
  
And that mission will never end.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote these snippets because I always wondered how it would be if the Winter Soldier knew more about the secrets of the Avengers than Hydra thought. Also hints of split personality because...some angst is needed even with him. Implied Bucky/Steve, or at least that Bucky loves Steve. Implied alcoholism with Stark, implied masochism with Clint Barton...a lot of stuff. I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
